1 February, 2019IndustriALL strongly condemns the threats, political militancy and economic intervention taking place in Venezuela and calls for stability and respect for the self-determination of the Venezuelan people.
IndustriALL also rejects the external boycott, which has clear political and economic motives that violate Venezuela's sovereignty.
IndustriALL has called on both the government of Venezuela and the opposition to end the confrontation, and has urged both sides to comply with the rule of law and international standards and to engage in dialogue to find a peaceful solution, with support from international organizations.
IndustriALL supports the United Nations’ call for all those involved to commit to inclusive and credible political dialogue to address the challenges of a very complex situation.
IndustriALL stands ready to join these efforts and is encouraging the entire international union movement to support a non-violent solution in order to protect peace and democracy and ensure national and international respect for the sovereignty, development and self-determination of the Venezuelan people.
IndustriALL is also calling on governments and other regional and international democratic institutions to condemn all acts of violence, military and economic intervention and outside interference. Such steps will prevent the political, economic and social tensions in Venezuela from escalating and spreading to other parts of the region.
"We need to work towards a dialogue that is backed by the international community and respects the right to self-determination of the Venezuelan people, without any outside interference. This is the only way to ease the tensions and prevent any escalation in the violence and militarization, which would only aggravate the situation in Venezuela, the wider region and the entire world," said IndustriALL's general secretary Valter Sanches.
Finally, IndustriALL condemns the decision of the Lima Group (endorsed by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru) to recognize the president of the National Assembly and leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, after he declared himself president of Venezuela.